Let’s talk about B2B keyword research and why it’s the foundation of any solid lead generation strategy. Successful B2B SEO content is based on keywords that help build traffic, boost brand awareness, and convert browsers into buyers. But without a clear understanding of how to craft a B2B-specific strategy, you’re simply wasting your time and money – and who wants to burn their hard-earned cash?
Figuring out which keywords will be the most effective – and what type of keywords to focus on – can feel like a Sisyphean task. Maybe you’re dealing with a lack of search volume for your core offering, or the search volume is concentrated around a few mega-competitive keywords. Maybe you’re getting traffic, but it’s all top-of-funnel stuff that doesn’t convert.
If such issues have ever tied your head in knots, you’re not alone! The good news is that there’s a clear path through those headaches and frustrations. We’re going to demystify the challenges of B2B keyword research here and now, helping you pinpoint fantastic phrases for your business and turn them into a strategy that works.
Key takeaways
- Tailor your keyword strategy by deeply understanding your target audience’s pain points and language.
- Effectively mix top, middle, and bottom of funnel keywords for sustained pipeline growth.
- Organize content around topic clusters to establish topical authority and improve SEO performance.
- Combine manual research with digital tools for comprehensive keyword insights.
- Convert browsers into buyers by aligning keywords with purchase intent and relevance.
How to understand whether a keyword is a ‘best fit’ for your strategy
Keyword research can feel very complicated. What you fundamentally need to evaluate keywords is a deep understanding of the target audience, their pain points, and the language they use. Establishing these facets will help you make informed decisions about what keywords are right for your strategy.
Who should you be targeting?
What most B2B companies do when it comes to keyword research is target the keywords that look like an obvious fit. They look like an obvious fit because these keywords target the most immediate decision-makers. This is what we refer to as the Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU) – the section made up of people who are at the decision stage.
We frequently discuss this dilemma at Ellipsis: Should you focus on low-volume BOFU keywords that promise immediate results or invest in Top-of-Funnel (TOFU) and Middle-of-Funnel (MOFU) keywords for sustained pipeline growth?
The answer lies in balance.
While it’s understandable to put your efforts into revenue-focused terms that are more likely to convert, BOFU keywords should almost never form your entire strategy.
Given its nature, the B2B purchasing market often comes with longer buying cycles. A business may consider several products before deciding on one, meaning multiple site visits to gather info. And long-term subscriptions for the likes of software often require sign-off from multiple partners. By creating content based on keywords from all stages of the purchase funnel, you’re opening doors to more potential customers.
Example: Why you need more than BOFU
A calendar booking SaaS brand might target ‘Calendly alternatives.’ This phrase gives a clear signal of understanding the market (a Calendly reference), and the additional word ‘alternatives’ signals purchase intent.
Our example may be in the ‘close to conversion’ sphere, but BOFU keywords are often highly competitive. At the time of writing, the phrase ‘Calendly alternatives’ earns around 6K monthly searches, making it very difficult to rank in the first place. Such an example shows the limitations of only targeting BOFU keyphrases.
A well-rounded strategy should focus mainly on MOFU and BOFU keywords, as TOFU terms often lack the relevance needed for effective engagement.
With that said, for some brands, TOFU content most definitely has its place. Think of, say, a brand selling online courses. Given the competition out there, posting TOFU content in the form of general education topics can help build topical authority. But for others – like a SaaS product with a specific purpose – there’ll be less cause for top-of-funnel info, as your content needs to be led by product and potential pain points.
Knowing what search volume to target
Understanding who you’re targeting directly influences the type of search volume you should pursue. Do you chase high-volume keywords with potentially lower relevance or prioritize lower-volume (or even zero-volume) keywords where relevance reigns supreme?
As we’ve established, a holistic approach to keyword research requires considering the entire marketing funnel. This means focusing on MOFU and BOFU keywords and deciding whether TOFU phrases are relevant to your brand at this stage.
For brand awareness, you need keywords with a decent search volume, even if the searchers are higher up in the funnel. According to research by Bain & Company and Google, a whopping 92% of B2B buyers have a list of preferred vendors before they even begin their research. That’s why focusing on brand awareness is so important!
At the same time, target decision-makers with keywords lower in the funnel. Bear in mind that seemingly niche B2B keywords often signal a higher purchase intent than broader, more generic terms. To give examples, the following phrases are niche but suggest a searcher that knows precisely what they’re looking for:
- ‘Salesforce vs HubSpot’
- ‘Inventory management plugins for WooCommerce’
- ‘Best video conference alternative to Zoom’.
In niche scenarios, consider interconnected keyword targeting as part of your overall strategy. This includes primary solution keywords, technical implementation terms, integration requirements, and compliance/security considerations. It’s a strategy that’s particularly useful for enterprise software or SaaS companies with complex sales cycles.
Having a diverse mix of keywords that cater to different search intents will also help establish your topical authority in Google’s eyes. Google will come to understand precisely what your business is all about, giving you a better shot at ranking for relevant search queries.
In other words, if you perform well with your higher-funnel keywords, it can make your lower-funnel keywords work harder. If your site earns more clicks to higher-funnel keywords via Google’s search results, Google will increase its trust of your content and overall site.
As a result, Google will show your lower-funnel content to more people – and better rankings tend to result in more clicks. Keyword diversification is most definitely the way forward.
Understanding the language your audience uses
Even when you’re targeting every level of the marketing funnel, you’ll still need to pinpoint who your different audiences are and understand their search approach.
Various stakeholders in the B2B buying process use distinct language when searching, reflecting their role-specific concerns and knowledge levels. A CTO might search for ‘enterprise data security compliance’, while a procurement manager searches for ‘data security software pricing comparison’. When targeting each funnel stage, identify the key stakeholders likely to be searching at that point and understand their distinct vocabularies.
Technical decision-makers tend to use industry-specific terminology and focus on capabilities. In contrast, business stakeholders often use more general terms centered on outcomes and ROI. These differences demonstrate the shift in intent occurring throughout the funnel:
- Educational intent at TOFU funnel stage.
- Comparative at MOFU.
- Purchase-focused at BOFU.
Creating a content plan through topic clustering
Never target keywords in isolation, but instead think of your strategy as building a knowledge library. Rather than creating random content for individual keywords, organize your efforts into clear themes, or ‘topic clusters’.
Under each cluster, produce content that explores different angles and perspectives, linking these pieces together naturally, much like chapters in a book. This approach signals to Google – and potential customers – that you possess a deep understanding of the topic rather than just surface-level knowledge.
James Baldacchino, Head of SEO and Strategy at Ellipsis, emphasizes this point:
“The one thing that most clients we’ve worked with were missing before coming to us was a strategy that was wider than simply zooming in on individual keywords. You cannot win on a keyword without building the context around it.”
Example: A digital marketing cluster
If you offer a digital marketing SaaS, consider creating a cluster around digital marketing itself. This could include topics like starting a business, growing a business, and analyzing various marketing strategies. Google needs to view your site as an authority on its subject matter, and having pages on broadly adjacent topics helps establish credibility.
Conduct all keyword research with clusters in mind from the outset, as retrofitting clusters onto an existing list of keywords will likely lead to disjointed content.
Once you’ve established your clusters and identified relevant keywords within them, put together a structured content calendar. At Ellipsis, we see the best results when clients publish 4 to 8 pieces of content per month. Focus on covering one topic cluster at a time to ‘land and expand’ your authority with both search engines and your audience.
Take the time to get each cluster right, and over the course of several months, you’ll be able to transform this into a consummate body of content.
Just don’t stray too far from the path…
A cautionary tale can be drawn from this HubSpot example – a brand long recognized for its excellent B2B SEO practices. In December 2024, they experienced a significant drop in traffic due to straying too far from their core topic areas. Google simply viewed their site as spammy, and their well-earned rep counted for nothing!
Keywords and content need to be wide-ranging in order to target different audiences within the funnel, but it should all be relevant to your brand and overall purpose.
Strategies for discovering B2B keywords
So, while keeping the sales funnel and topic clusters firmly in mind, where do you find the right keywords? Even experienced marketers often rely on a single source but a mix of manual research and digital tools will bring you much richer results.
Manual methods for choosing B2B keywords
Manual checks help you understand your product from a consumer perspective:
- Product information: Analyze external reviews and discussions to understand the features of your product in detail and the language used to describe them.
- Google Search Console: Delve into Google Search Console to uncover keywords you’re already ranking for within your existing content. Identify common themes between them and pinpoint keywords where previous content has underperformed.
- Competitor research: Scour listicles comparing your product with competitors to understand the similarities and differences in features. Examine competitor product pages and reviews to understand the language they use to describe their offerings.
- Technical documentation: Analyze competitor technical documentation to uncover common use cases, pain points, and areas of focus.
- Competitor content strategy: Understand what topics your competitors are writing about and whether they focus on TOFU or BOFU keywords.
At Ellipsis, we employ the ‘head and shoulders’ strategy. This has nothing whatsoever to do with shampoo and everything to do with results.
The ‘head and shoulders’ strategy is informed by a deep understanding of the products. We select the best keywords for blog content that will then drive people to the product pages, linking these via optimized anchor text. Content topics are all aligned with the scope of the product, ensuring relevancy, and potential customers have a clear, linked-to next step for their buying journey.
Although keyword research tools are necessary to carry out your research, manual input is invaluable. Your sales and customer success teams directly interact with B2B buyers, so they can provide invaluable insights into the purchasing experience. This is the next best thing to interviewing customers directly – it will often bring up challenges and pain points that keyword research will miss.
Using keyword research tools
The right tools enable you to uncover a wide range of opportunities that might otherwise remain hidden. Cross-platform exploration using multiple tools can improve your keyword research, providing a comprehensive view of the wider industry and helping you identify the most relevant terms for your content. Our favorite tools include the following:
Semrush
Semrush features keyword gap analysis, competitor analysis, and insights into search intent. The platform also allows you to analyze your competitors’ SEO strategies, identifying opportunities to improve your ranking and traffic.
- Use case: Use Semrush to perform a keyword gap analysis between your brand and competitors and to gain insights into their SEO strategies.
KW Finder (Mangools)
KWFinder allows you to analyze the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) for your target keywords, providing insights into the metrics of top-ranking pages. It supports local keyword research by filtering keywords based on location, making it useful for businesses targeting specific regions.
- Use case: Use KWFinder to identify better alternatives, such as similar keywords with high search volume or low keyword difficulty.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs boasts a vast keyword database that spans multiple search engines and countries, providing comprehensive data for global SEO strategies. It offers powerful backlink analysis tools, helping you understand your competitors’ link profiles and identify opportunities for link building. The platform also allows you to identify content gaps in your niche and find keywords that are not well-covered by existing content.
- Use case: Use Ahrefs to reverse-search competing articles and identify better keyword opportunities with higher volume or keywords that generate clicks over zero-click rankings.
Remember that the data from these tools is a guide and not an absolute value determining the performance of a keyword. The importance of human expertise cannot be underestimated here – even in modern marketing, data is only as good as the interpretation of the person using it.
As it stands, these tools can’t map multiple keywords to complex sales funnels and produce a complete strategy for you. You need human experts to build a strategy around any data, as tools won’t make the nuanced conclusions required.
However, predictive AI tools can identify which topics and subtopics have the highest potential for ranking success. They make decisions based on your site’s current authority and the performance of your competitors. For lengthy campaigns, they’re a phenomenal time-saver, being able to analyze reams of information in seconds.
That’s why we created our own predictive keyword research technology called FALCON AI®, which uses AI for more nuanced analysis. As we’ll see below, our software does the hard yards, leaving the big decisions in human hands.
Form your B2B keyword strategy with Ellipsis
You’ll now know why B2B keywords should be matched to the sales funnel, the best tools to use, and the importance of manual insights when forming a strategy. Next, it’s time to consider your own journey – whether to go it alone or team up with Ellipsis for results that count.
Take a look at the following winning formula:
Technical precision + deep market understanding = super-effective B2B keyword strategy
Beyond the tools we’ve featured here, our proprietary FALCON AI® strengthens keyword selection through advanced machine learning. By using FALCON AI®, we’re able to identify opportunities for our clients that manual methods and other tools might overlook.
Our diverse in-house team specializes in creating authoritative content that meets the needs of B2B decision-makers, so your messaging hits the mark with every post. We deliver consistent quality at scale through our leading Content Growth service. Our strategies help to grow your traffic, audience, and ultimately sales by creating content that significantly increases your visibility and brand awareness
The success story of Akkio – which achieved a remarkable 55x traffic growth since our partnership began – demonstrates how combining AI-powered keyword selection with specialist expertise can yield truly exceptional results. Next time, it could be you!
If you’re ready to transform your B2B keyword strategy, get in touch to see how our specialized approach can drive your organic growth and position your brand as a true industry leader.
